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Author
Topic: Assess ARS Symptoms & Risk (Read 3211 times)

First off thanks for a great community you have created. I had a possible high risk incident that has me stressed and would like an honest opinion of my situation.

I had one time unprotected sex with a female on a one night stand. She claimed to have only had 4 partners in the past and said did not have anything but who really knows.

3 1/2 days later I had the following symptoms:

- Diarrhea that lasted a week- Fever and chills where I felt pretty miserable. This lasted 2-3 days- It took about a week to get my appetite back to normal- About 6 days later have a red bump on my penis. I have had it for about 5 days, small and red but no bubble or bursting- Also this happened while in Mexico and the symptoms started the day after I got back

From what I have read symptoms usually do not appear until 2 - 4 weeks, so unsure if these could be ARS symptoms, or more likely attributed to something else.

HIV is harder to transmit from female to male than the other way round. You had a single unprotected incident. The odds are significantly in your favor that you will test negative at 13 weeks.

You do need to learn from this experience because low risk is not the same thing as no risk. Use a condom everytime. No exceptions. Then you will be well protected against the sexual transmission of HIV.

Now, get on with your life and get tested at 13 weeks. If you find waiting that long too hard, get tested at 6 weeks for a prelimenary result. A negative at 6 weeks indicates you will very likely continue to test negative.

Thanks for the feedback. I know symptoms are never a reliable indication of infection and bottom line I will get tested in about 3 1/2 weeks.

My question regarding symptoms showing up in 3 1/2 days. I understand it is typical for symptoms to show up in 2 - 4 weeks, but I did read somewhere that in rare instances they can show up within days. What type of rare instance would cause symptoms to show up within days from a possible infection?

We're not going to get into a speculative discussion about symptoms with you. The symptoms of acute HIV infection that some people experience are really non-specific. They're largely indistinguishable from those caused by any number of other viral infections.

So we focus on risk behaviours. As Andy notes you've had a low risk and so you should be tested at 13 weeks.

3 months test negative, thanks again for your counsel. I like many posters on here I am sure have convinced themselves base on their symptoms they are positive which creates way too much stress. To all out there in the same situation, trust what these good people say. Get on with your life, focus on others things and believe that you will come thru okay. Best...

That's good news. You need to celebrate by committing now to always using condoms for vaginal and anal intercourse. No exceptions. That way you can enjoy your sexuality and be well protected against HIV.